Stakeholders Identification

wiki: Identify communication stakeholders. 

 Program identification 

Project Communication Managemet

 

Stakeholders are those involved in and/or affected (negatively or positively) by the outcome and the impact of an action, project, programme.    

See Type of stakeholders

Project team and expected beneficiaries and others directly targeted by the action intervention are key stakeholders. They are the ones who directly stand to benefit or lose from actions or who warrant redress from any negative effects of such operations. 

Indirectly Affected Groups Many individuals or institutions may be indirectly involved or affected because of their technical expertise or public and private interest in actions, policies or programs, or they may be linked in some way to those who are directly affected. Such stakeholders may include different organizations, , various intermediary or representative organizations, private sector project/programme purposees, and technical and professional bodies.

We can create two main categories of stakeholders: 

According to the World Bank good way to identify appropriate stakeholders is to start by asking questions. Who are the "voiceless" for whom special efforts may have to be made? Who are the representatives of those likely to be affected? Who is responsible for what is intended? Who is likely to mobilize for or against what is intended? Who can make what is intended more effective through their participation or less effective by their nonparticipation or outright opposition? Who can contribute financial and technical resources? Whose behavior has to change for the effort to succeed? Whose behavior has to change for the effort to succeed?    

Another way to get honest information is to look at what sort of information is already available on the subject. This can range from existing survey information, demographic breakdowns, or anything else that sheds light on the issue or issues we are dealing with. It can also include media reports.

 template:  Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities

Identify the relevant stakeholders in the program identification phase or project origination phase

In order to identify the key problems in any given situation, properly understand the nature and causes of these problems, and maximise the benefits and minimise negative impacts, we need to identify all groups likely to be affected (either positively or negatively) by an intervention. These might include:

  • Women and men living in poverty - Involving beneficiaries in every stage of the programme/project is key to ensuring we deliver programmes or projects that are relevant to their needs, effective and that result in sustainable impact.  The problems that a programme or project will address should be identified and prioritised according to the views of beneficiaries, and those of their representative social organisations.  

  •  Programme Staff from Organization and partner organisations - Involving staff who will be working to deliver a programme of project in the Identification process will help ensure that they have a good understanding the problems facing beneficiaries and enable them to support efforts to tackle these problems more effectively.

  • Local authorities, government agencies or other stakeholders in positions of relative power - Engaging with this group of stakeholders will help build a shared understanding of the problem, and could increase their willingness to be involved and contribute

Development organizations need to keep in consideration the fct that that there will be a number of different, sometimes conflicting, opinions and interests.  In particular, it is important to be aware that beneficiaries are not a homogenous group.  There are likely to be different interests and attitudes within groups, as well as inequalities and vulnerable groups (such as women, children, people living with HIV/AIDS  or the disabled).  You will need to think careful about how you include the voices of these groups.  Failing to adequately address these inequalities can damage the effectiveness and sustainability of projects and programmes, and even exacerbate existing disparities. It is therefore vital to analyse gender differences and inequalities, and to take them into account from the very beginning of a project or programme.

 

 

Target Information Users and their Information Needs

Target Users (stakeholders)

  • Project manager

  • Project team

  • Donors

  • Functional management

  • Beneficiaries ,

  • Government, Civil Society, etc.

 

Project Information Categories

  • Authorizations (any document that represents an agreement: project plans; budgets; organization chart; responsibility matrix; product specifications, etc.)

  • Status changes (regular cost and schedule status repot; problem logs, etc.)

  • Coordination (tasks and responsibilities; relationships between groups; etc.)

 

Stakeholders analysis (world Bank - IPDET)

 

Individuals, groups, or agencies

To make policy

To make operational decisions

To provide input to evaluation

To react

For interest only

Developer of the program

Funder of the program

Person/agency who identified the local need

Boards/agencies who approved deliver of the program at local level

Local funder

Other providers of resources (facilities, supplies, in-kind contributions)

Top managers of agencies delivering the program

Program managers

Program directors

Sponsor of the evaluation

Direct clients of the program

Indirect beneficiaries of the program (parents, children, spouses, employers)

Potential adopters of the program

Groups excluded from the program

Groups perceiving negative side effects of the program or the evaluation

Groups losing power as a result of use of the program

Groups suffering from lost opportunities as a result of the program

Public/community members

Others

 

 

Deliverables of stakeholders analysis may include:

1a)  Internal and External Stakeholders Checklist, identifying the full range of potential stakeholders, characterizing the change in positioning that often occurs during the transition to competition, and outlining how the NGO can leverage these changes to its strategic advantage; and

 

1b)  Stakeholders Identification and Strategy Development Insights Document, a customized document (based on the interactions during the residential seminar between participants and the instructors) that indicates where the NGO stands:  a) in terms of its relations with each potential stakeholders group;  b) in terms of remedial steps it may need to take;  and  c) in terms of ways it can

  

 

project major takeholders roles table 

Project Stakeholder Analysis Template 

 

 

 

In order to identify the key problems in any given situation, properly understand the nature and causes of these problems, and maximise the benefits and minimise negative impacts, we need to identify all groups likely to be affected (either positively or negatively) by an intervention .  These might include:

·         Women and men living in poverty - Involving beneficiaries in every stage of the programme/project is key to ensuring we deliver programmes or projects that are relevant to their needs, effective and that result in sustainable impact.  The problems that a programme or project will address should be identified and prioritised according to the views of beneficiaries, and those of their representative social organisations.  

Keep in mind that there will be a number of different, sometimes conflicting, opinions and interests.  In particular, it is important to be aware that beneficiaries are not a homogenous group.  There are likely to be different interests and attitudes within groups, as well as inequalities and vulnerable groups (such as women, children, people living with HIV/AIDS or the disabled).  You will need to think careful about how you include the voices of these groups.  Failing to adequately address these inequalities can damage the effectiveness and sustainability of projects and programmes, and even exacerbate existing disparities. It is therefore vital to analyse gender differences and inequalities, and to take them into account from the very beginning of a project or programme.

 

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The activities that project teams carry out must produce outputs that will empower project beneficiaries to better interact with their communities and utilise project deliverables to achieve the project outcomes These outcomes will enable the communities to tackle the problems identified and produce changes in the factors generating these problems, thereby contributing to the achievement of the project objectives To make the project successful, it is necessary that project teams understand the requirements, needs and problems of the beneficiaries and that the beneficiaries understand the requirements, needs and problems of the communities. If the project team has correctly understood the needs and problems of the target beneficiaries, they will be able to utilise the outputs to empower beneficiaries, i.e. move from outputs to outcomes If the project beneficiaries have correctly understood the needs and problems of the communities, they will be able to empower communities, i.e. move from outcomes to impact Without active contribution of beneficiariers, project ouputs will not be utilised to achieve project outcomes Without active contribution of commmunities, beneficiariers will not be able to utilise outcomes to achieve impact.

 

 

Continue: Analyse the communication needs of each stakeholders

 

For further details see :

 

analyzing potential stakeholder resistance. 

Analyzing your Audience

Creating Your Organizational Voice and Image

What Do They Want and Expect to See  - Part of the process of getting to know your audience, whether it is internal or external, is getting to know what it is they need, want, or expect from you, and why. You also want to figure out what they are really looking for, even when they are not sure. The next question is whether you have it to give them, and if so, how.

 

 

 

Involving Stakeholders

The first challenge will be to identify the stakeholders. This can be done by looking at documents about the intervention and talking with program staff, local officials, and program participants. Stakeholders can be interviewed initially, or brought together in small groups.

Stakeholder meetings can be held periodically, or a more formal structure can be established. The evaluation manager may set up an advisory or steering committee structure. Tasks can be assigned to individuals or to smaller sub-committees if necessary.

Often there is one key client sponsoring or requesting the evaluation. The needs of this client will largely shape the evaluation. The evaluator, who listens and facilitates discussions about the evaluation’s focus, can summarize, prepare written notes, and provide key stakeholders with options about ways the evaluation can be approached.

By engaging the stakeholders early on, everyone will have a better understanding of the intervention and the challenges it faces in implementation. In addition, the evaluation team will be better informed as to key issues for the evaluation and about what information is needed, when, and by whom. Meeting with key stakeholders helps ensure that the evaluation will not miss major critical issues. It also helps get a "buy in" on the evaluation as stakeholders perceive the evaluation as potentially helpful in attempting to answer their questions.

The extent to which stakeholders are actively involved in the design and implementation of the evaluation depends on several factors. For example, stakeholders may not be able to afford to take time away from their regular duties, or there may be political reasons why the evaluation needs to be seen as independent.

While it may be somewhat unwieldy, involvement of stakeholders in this first step is likely to:

  1. generate better questions
  2. generate support for the evaluation
  3. increase access to whatever information is available
  4. enhance the acceptance of

 

other resources: IDCR  Identifying the Intended Use(s) of an Evaluation